Bushiri wants to take extradition case to the Constitution Court in Malawi
Self-proclaimed prophet Shepard Bushiri and his wife Mary want to take their extradition hearing to the Constitutional Court in Malawi.
Self-proclaimed prophet Shepard Bushiri and his wife Mary want to take their extradition hearing to the Constitutional Court in Malawi.
The couple appeared in the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
South African authorities have applied through Malawi's prosecuting authority to have the couple extradited to back to the country, where they are facing charges of fraud and money laundering after they fled last year.
Their lawyer Wapona Kita submitted two applications to the court.
The first one seeks to dismiss the extradition case while the second application seeks a hearing in the Constitutional Court.
Kita argued the extradition request is based on a Southern African Developmental Community (SADC) treaty of 2002, which is not in line with Malawian law as the country never ratified the treaty.
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He said a treaty between two countries cannot trump domestic law.
Kita added that the request is a constitutional matter and should be brought before the chief justice.
He also added that in law, Malawi can deny extraditing a fugitive if they will not be guaranteed a free and fair trial.
Kita said they want to approach the Constitutional Court to interpret whether the SADC protocol can be used in law.
The State, led by the director of public prosecutions Steve Kainu, agreed with the defense, but pointed out that there was another treaty between South Africa and Malawi in 1976.
Magistrate Patrick Chirwa postponed his ruling on the matter to Friday.
